Olympus Flash

Hi,

i recently bought an olympus e-p1 and now i wish to buy one or two flashes FL-36/36R or FL50/50R. I am new at olympus system so i

know few things about it. Is it possible to use Those flash wireless in super FP mode, proveded that the camera support it?

 

 

Thanks for helping/looking

<p>As far as I'm aware, only the late-model Olympus SLR bodies can control the FL36R or FL50R for dedicated wireless operation using their built in flash units. The E-P1/E-P2 bodies do not have built in flash units and so lack any wireless control options. There is no mention of wireless control in either Pen body manuals either. <br /><br /> For dedicated flash control off-camera, you'll need an Olympus FL-CB05 or equivalent cable to attach the flash to the body. I found a 3.5m uncoiled alternative from an Ebay vendor which I've ordered ... I hope it's a decent cable. <br /><br /> <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390135623893&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1976wt_1167" target="new1">"Flash TTL 3.5m Extension Cord Olympus" vendor: mike-s-photo</a></p>

<p>In addition to not using the wireless system, the micro four-thirds camera also do not utilize the AF assist light built into the flash units, so you cannot count on the flash to be of any assistance in light low enough where the camera won't be able to focus on its' own.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>In addition to not using the wireless system, the micro four-thirds camera also do not utilize the AF assist light built into the flash units, so you cannot count on the flash to be of any assistance in light low enough where the camera won't be able to focus on its' own.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Good grief. Him bad medicine, Keemosabee ! Why I would ask did the company disable this useful capability in a dedicated company branded flash system.....? As far as the Oly wireless R system, well I percieve that it is optical in nature, not inherently faulty in such design. Only this much. I just bought and am testing out an Elinchrom Universal pair (well under USD 200.00) which operates on the 2.4 Ghz radio frequency. Techiically RF methodology =more state of the art and has flexibillty for a variety of lights. Meaning I have an FL 50 and plan no more Oly shoe flashguns. I will use my Quantum T5d more with its Olympus camera module and figure a way to attach and use just arrived teeny Swiss designed made in India remote triggers. Guess the flash picture is getting to be a <strong>maze</strong> even for old <strong>flashers</strong> like yours truly. (Oops, wrong choice of noun :-). Warm regards, gs</p>

<p>------------------------------ OT and irrelevant addendum re 'flashing' ---------------<br /> Stream of conscious humor: Did you hear the one about the garment worker in New York garment district in its heyday of the cutter and sewer production shops. Jewish garment work lady supervisor walks down the avenue late at night after her shift. Man in black trench coat approaches. Then sweeps open the coat to expose himself to the older woman. Her response: " What!. You call <strong>that </strong> schmattah<strong> </strong> a <strong>lining</strong> ? "</p>

<p>The 'flash picture' for the E-P1/E-P2 isn't anything particularly bad or particularly special, Gerry. The Pen cameras are designed as a 'light carryabout', not a studio camera, that's all. They work fine with Olympus-dedicated flash units or with non-dedicated flash units.</p>

<p>I do almost all my flash setups with manual units and optical slaves ... all this fancy flash automation stuff does more to get in my way than it helps. I put a little Nikon SB30 on top of of my camera (not an E-P1 but equivalent) with the IR shield up, set it to manual output at 1/16 power, and drive my external flash units with flash slave pickups. Works like a charm, shockingly even in pretty bright sunlight (at close range, of course).</p>

<p>I do have an FL36, which works great both on and off camera with a dedicated cord to provide fill and keylights in the eyes as needed, with and without light modifiers as well. </p>

<p>I thought I got it, but I guess I did not. If one adds a big for this new to my eyes EP series, rare around here, unit an FL 50 R -let us say on a side bracket- or FL 36R flash on top of an EP-1 or E-P-2 camera will it add remote control capability to talk to other R flashes or is the connectivity feature it built into the camera function body too ? I really haven't a clue myself, sincere query...<br>

Will EP series allow use of any Oly current flash for a useful in the dark focus assist light. Negative was my assumption from the comments by you, Greg Chappell . . I must misread ...senior moment perhaps..not a detraction from the use of the camera or the flash, but still....<br /> I still own couple 285 HV Vivitars. I won't use because of trigger voltage incompatibility concern and too much hassle to bother with the Wein shoe..FL 50...true it is a big flash for a small camera. I have a cute little Metz 34 CS-2 non dedicated mini flashgun pack of cards or less in size that I am not sure about re trigger DC Voltage. It is the smallest yet. Even has a slave function. It is not TTL, but it is tiny and appropriate for such as on my Hexar AF.<br /> I may have more flashes-I can't seem to offload them yet- left over from Canon T90 days I also acquired in the early E-1 days,the little FL 20 which I don't expect much automation from but I know it will at least fire on those cameras. I keep it with my C 5050 and my recent E-3. On board flash sucks my BLM-1s..<br /> No biggie. Anyway, this sparked my curiosity and learning curve . Compatibility in areas that one might value and add to understanding of funcions of off camera usage. I am all ears...as always.</p>

<p>An afterthought to Greg Chappell, maybe this idea. Do you think the contrast detect autofocus system on the new range of micro 4/3 has made the focus assist lamp un usable?---again I am not that clear on the physics of the CDAF vs what is it called, phase detect, I guess. When and if the mood strikes, it would be useful to me for one to better understand the new system that may replace pentaprisms and the like.( An aside..Kona southerly wind weather here. Not cold, just full of damp and vog from the Big Island volcano, has everyone a bit off speed today.No snow except on Mauna Kea observatory peak)..aloha, gs</p>

<p><em>> ... If one adds ... an FL 50 R or FL 36R flash on top of an EP-1 or E-P-2 camera will it add remote control capability to talk to other R flashes or is the connectivity feature it built into the camera function body too ? </em><br /><br /> The wireless dedicated control protocol has to be built into the body. It doesn't exist in the Pen digital bodies, only in the late-model Olympus SLR bodies. (Doesn't exist in the Panasonic Lumix G bodies either, even the ones with a built-in flash.) <br /><br /> <em>> ... Will EP series allow use of any Oly current flash for a useful in the dark focus assist light. ... </em><br /><br /> No. Doesn't work with the Panasonic bodies either. <br /><br /> <em>> ... I still own couple 285 HV Vivitars. I won't use because of trigger voltage incompatibility concern ... </em><br /><br /> Measure the static trigger voltage. If it's under 10V, they're perfectly safe. The 285 HV is a great flash at a very low price ... all the ones currently being sold new are safe. <br /><br /> <em>> ... the little FL 20 ... </em><br /><br /> It, and the FL40, are "compatible" but do not do TTL on most of the later bodies. <br /><br /> <em>> ... An afterthought to Greg Chappell, maybe this idea. Do you think the contrast detect autofocus system on the new range of micro 4/3 has made the focus assist lamp unusable? </em><br /><br /> Panasonic has fitted AF assist lights on their mFT bodies, all of them, and it works beautifully. So it's certainly still a usable concept. I notice that my Panasonic L1 activates the FL36 focus assist light, but my Panasonic G1 does not. Neither need it, but it is curious why they decided not to activate the FL36 illuminator when it works fine in all other ways.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info, Godfrey. I had,earlier, started looking up flash on Olympus accessories and Pen web sites and it had hit me as ambiguous at the time. You have sorted it out pretty well.. Agree on the 285HV as a good choice for many. When I last tested the trigger voltage on 285HV, came out to roughly 8 V. DC.</p>

<p>Hi, Gerry.</p>

<p>I think the answer regarding the AF assist light is, there is something about the way the micro four-thirds camera's AF systems work that do not allow for the use of the AF assist lights. The only type cameras I have ever been able to use that utilized the AF assist lights on the flash are DSLR's. Olympus makes an SP series digicam model...I think its' the 570, that has a TTL hot shoe, and AF assist light does not operate with that camera either. I own a Panasonic FZ50 which is also fully compatible with Olympus' TTL system, but it does not activate the AF assist light of my FL50 flash.</p>

<p>To take it even further, back when I owned a Canon outfit I owned two TTL units, the 550EX and 420EX that I used with a 10D and Digital Rebel. I also owned a Powershot G5 that had a TTL hot shoe and it also did not utilize the flash's AF assist light and AF assist light on the camera was next to useless beyond 3-4 feet, so I would assume there's something about the operation of the micro four-thirds system that is closer to how digicams operate vs. a DSLR system as they seem to all have that same trait in common, and it's not just relegated to the Olympus brand as far as I can see.</p>

<p>Perhaps it has to do with the specifics of the AF Assist light in the flash units. Micro-FourThirds cameras (and most fixed-lens digicams) use Contrast Detect autofocus systems, reading data from the sensor itself, where FourThirds and other SLR cameras use Phase Detect systems, with a separate sensor tuned to that task. All of the current flash units with assist lamps were designed for use with the SLR cameras. </p>

<p>Obviously, AF assist lights themselves are not the issue. My old Sony F707 had the best focus assist light on any camera or flash I've ever seen: a projected laser grid. It would nail the focus spot on in total darkness. And, as I said above, Panasonic fits AF assist lights to the Lumix G bodies and they work very well. </p>

<p>The AF assist light on the flash units are usually red. There is IR-cut filter on the image sensors to reduce IR contamination which leads to inaccurate color of the objects like black fabric. The wavelength of red range is the closest to IR among the colors in the visible range, so the sensitivity of the image sensor (with IR-cut filter) might be much lower than the dedicated AF sensor of DSLRs. I suspect that's why m4/3 cameras with CDAF system doesn't use the AF assist lights, even the ones on the fully compatible flash unit.</p>

<p>The AF assist light on G1 is orange to which the sensor with IR-cut filter should be more sensitive than to red.</p>